FPOP Peer Mentor October Meet-Up. Photo: Meaghan Shea

The Prehealth Advising office in Global Education & Career Development (GECD) has created new programming for students considering applying to medical school. The programs will be held during the fall and early spring semesters and IAP. They are designed to align with the core competencies recommended by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). Offerings include:

Learning to Be the Best Future Physician You Can Be

From October through March, this four-part series led by guest speakers will help students get a head start on developing the insight and skills necessary for self-care as practicing physicians. Topics include mindfulness, wellness, stress reduction, and narrative medicine. The impetus for this series was the increasing number of news reports addressing physician burnout and depression.

FPOP Peer Mentor Program

Since students often turn to their peers for advice, we are training the peer counselors from our FPOP Discover Prehealth summer program to become year-round peer mentors. The goal is to provide first-year students with accurate and consistent premed advice, build a close prehealth community, and grow social networking skills. There are currently eight peer mentors serving 20 FPOP freshmen; an initial social meet-up was held in October. There will be another meet-up later this fall, and two in the spring.

BIDMC Surgical Shadow Program

In collaboration with MIT PhD alumnus Dr. Elliot Chaikof, surgeon-in-chief at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, we are offering select prehealth upperclassmen a new spring shadowing opportunity to specifically explore surgical specialties.

IAP Pelvic Pain Course

The Center for Gynepathology Research and Prehealth Advising are collaborating in the design of a four-day course on integrative, team-based approaches to managing female pelvic pain conditions.

IAP Gender Affirmative Patient Care

This workshop will train students planning to become health professionals in using appropriate language to normalize gender inclusivity in the healthcare arena.

For more information on these programs, contact prehealth@mit.edu.

—Julia Mongo, Global Education & Career Development